Rotten Luck
by Triscribe
Summary: J'onn's in shock over the arrival of a fellow martian. Kara's surprised a heroic clone actually came out of Cadmus. Wally's worried, Zatanna's concerned, Ollie's scared, Batman has a headache and Tim is ecstatic. When eight teens from a parallel dimension suddenly arrive, the whole Watchtower is about to be turned on its head... Not (technically) part of the Snatch and Grab series.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"...and the last report from San Francisco has everything cleared up, our teams packing up and getting ready to head back."

"Good," J'onn nodded at Mister Terrific's words. "With everything running smoothly, we'll be able to go through with the mechanical inspections tonight, and make ready for the food shipment tomorrow-" The martian was cut off by sudden beeping from one of the sensor consoles. A civilian tech hurried over to check it over.

"Sir?" She called out in a strange tone. "We're getting warnings of an incoming energy, but the scanners can't pinpoint what it is, or even where it's coming from." J'onn hurried over, checking the readouts himself.

"Hm... The predominant signature appears to be zeta energy..."

"The stuff that goes into the teleporters?" Mister Terrific frowned, joining him. "Does that mean we're about to-"

Startled cries resounded through the command center as a blinding flash of orange life flared through the viewing windows. The various heroes and civilians recovered as quickly as they could once it faded, looking out into the vacuum of space to try and spot where the light had come from.

"There!" Someone shouted, a hand outstretched. J'onn followed the pointing digit, and felt the equivalent of a human's stomach suddenly dropping down to the floor.

"What is that thing?" Terrific muttered, squinting.

"A martian bio-ship," J'onn whispered as he continued to stare. "I have not seen an intact one since before the Invaders came..."

"Whoa, wait, that thing's from Mars? J'onn? Hey!" People called out in alarm as the green skinned alien suddenly turned intangible, flying away from the command center and out of the Watchtower entirely. He couldn't help but head straight towards the red and black bio-ship - his friends and allies would berate him for the abruptness later, but at that particular moment J'onn could not bring himself to care.

 _A true bio-ship... Living!_ And indeed, the vessel's limited psyche was functioning, if a bit sluggishly from the sudden teleportation. It - she - at least recognized J'onn as a fellow denizen of their home planet, reluctantly allowing him to phase inside. Once within the ship's cabin, he returned to solidity, and gazed about at the passengers, growing more confused and awed by the moment.

There were eight of them, all appearing to be human teenagers, though they varied greatly in appearance - and every single one was in a state of unconsciousness. There was one male and female pair who very much resembled Green Arrow and Flash... Another male bearing Superman's crest on his black shirt... A dark skinned pair, also male and female, whose clothing J'onn did not recognize... One female with black hair was dressed in a magician's garb, not unlike Zatanna... The smallest of them greatly resembled Batman's youngest partner, Robin, whom J'onn had met on several occasions...

And the last one, slumped over in the pilot's seat, was most definitely a martian girl.

She may have altered her appearance to mimic a human's anatomy even more so than he had done, but J'onn could sense another of his kind easily. He strode toward her cautiously, knowing that the bio-ship would most likely be keyed into her mistress' mind-scape, and would react automatically in defense should anything attempt to harm the martian female. So, J'onn took extra care to seem non-threatening as he reached out with both hand and mind.

 _-Team, report to the mission room-_

 _-assume standard procedure: Superboy, Rocket, infiltrate from above-_

 _-Got it! Now let's scatter before this aster decides to gain a dis in front of it-_

 _-can't believe we actually managed to pull of a proper stealth mission!-_

 _-hey, can we swing by Central real quick? The Rogues are out in full force again, my uncle Barry might need a hand-_

 _-sure thing, Wally-_

 _-such a little troll, Robin-_

 _-but you gotta admit, the look on that jerk's face!-_

 _-Guys, something's wrong, this isn't a normal storm-_

 _-M'gann, watch out!-_

With a gasp, the martian girl's eyes snapped open, and for a moment all she did was stare at J'onn in shock. Then he suddenly had his arms full as she launched herself at him, holding on and trembling. Almost unbidden, he sent her a warm telepathic reassurance, that she and the others were safe, they were out of the storm.

 _*Sometimes I really hate Earth weather...*_ The girl murmured at him, one mind to another.

 _*I can certainly agree with that statement.*_ J'onn shared his flicker of amusement with her. _*Now, perhaps you might consent to explaining to me exactly who you are?*_

Instantly, the girl stiffened, pulling back from his embrace in shock. "Y-you- but- what?" She stuttered weakly.

"I am J'onn J'onzz, of the Justice League." He told her carefully. "And I glimpsed enough of your recent memories to know that you and your friends are not, as the humans say, from around here."

The girl continued to gape at him, at least until J'onn sent her a gentle telepathic nudge. "O-oh, I, um, I'm M'gann M'orzz... your niece."

Eyes widening, he gestured for her to sit, since it seemed as though the child was about to collapse once more. "Perhaps, sharing mentally might make things easier."

Hesitantly, the girl nodded, calling up a chair for him as well, directly beside her own. Then, when J'onn was comfortable, the two of them opened a full mind link, as was the martian way of sharing a great amount of information quickly.

 _-screams, aliens landing, their own citizens changing, shooting-_

 _-cruel laughter and taunts, her white skin an eyesore among the crowd-_

 _-specialized gas, freeze the Invaders where they stand, but the cost of the final raid-_

 _-a chance, such a tiny chance, but she took it, sneaking aboard his bio-ship-_

 _-visitors from another world, they awoke the Invaders, delivered to them a new planet for conquering, he had to warn-_

 _-discovered, reluctantly given belated permission, joy joy_ _ **joy**_ _, going to Earth at last-_

 _-captured, imprisoned, but there, possible aid, another not of this world-_

 _-a Team, friends, real ones who wouldn't know what a monster she was, especially the cute, tall one-_

 _-alliance with the others, explaining, winning, a permanent group, a Justice League-_

 _-Happy Harbor, so quaint, just like on tv-_

 _-human behavior is so_ strange-

 _-missions, new members, her true martian form, she knows she knows she knows-_

 _-they make no sense, but he helps anyway, and then there is a new menace, a winged one-_

 _-traitor, traitor, can't let them know, wait, others have secrets too? Superboy? Artemis? maybe I should take the chance-_

 _-betrayal, but redemption, sacrifice, but a last minute rescue, they're all alive, they survived-_

 _-beat the Light, and then the League, missing sixteen hours, but for now we're all fine, we won-_

 _-new Watchtower, new members, facing aliens and Cadmus and Luthor/Brainiac, Wally! still alive, back, safe, the League has prevailed-_

Both of them snapped back to their own forms when there came a tapping on the ship's windows. Outside, Superman floated with a questioning expression on his face, clearly able to see them with his x-ray vision.

"Oh! Allow me." M'gann had a small bubble form in the side of the ship, allowing the Kryptonian to enter from the space side, which she sealed again before allowing him to enter the main cabin.

"Well, that's probably one of the stranger airlocks I've ever been through," Superman muttered as the wall smoothed out once more behind him. "So, J'onn, I've ordered the others not to fire, but maybe now you can explain exactly what's going on out here?"

"We have visitors from another dimension." He replied, causing the Man of Steel's eyes to widen almost comically.

"Oh."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Conner's eyes snapped open.

The last thing he could remember was M'gann straining at the controls of the bio-ship, trying to pull them away from a freak storm that had sprung up, that blast of orange lighting coming up from _beneath_ the clouds-

"Whoa! You awake, there?"

Turning his head, Conner blinked. And blinked again. He was clearly in some sort of medical room, lying on a reasonably comfortable bed, and there was a girl sitting on a chair against the wall.

A blonde, maybe a few years older than him, with the S-shield on her white shirt.

What the hell?

"Who-" Conner cut himself off with a wince, trying to sit up only to be struck with a sharp pain through his skull.

"Easy, your martian friend said that the rest of you would probably wake up with some residual mental shocks, or something like that, anyway. Here." An extra pillow was suddenly being placed behind the teen's back, before firm hands eased him into an upright but comfortable position. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He replied stiffly. "Who are you?"

"Oh! Sorry, alternate dimension and all. I'm Supergirl, and I'm assuming you go by Super _boy,_ huh?"

"...Alternate...?"

"Yeah, that martian girl and J'onn already exchanged enough info to figure out you guys got zapped across the dimensional barrier. Which apparently takes a lot out of a person, since you were all out cold when your ship showed up outside the Watchtower." Supergirl offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm in here 'cause your friend figured you were most likely to wake up first, and she said it would be better to have someone on hand who could take a punch if you got hostile."

A bit of Conner's brain lurched back into motion. "M'gann! Is she okay?"

"She's fine, talking with the big Seven and trying to figure out what the heck happened with you guys." A sly look suddenly stole onto the other's face. "Sooo, does the mutual worry you two have for each other mean she's your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, she is."

Blonde eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh. And here I was just teasing."

Conner shot her a glare, but it was halfhearted at best - he was still too disoriented to work up a proper glower. "You said something about the Watchtower, before? Is that where we are now?"

"Yep! We don't have one singular med bay, but a bunch of rooms all lined up in Level Three-A. The rest of your teammates are further down from the hall from us. Now, backtracking, you and the martian - M'gann, sorry - are really together? How long has that lasted?"

"Yes, we are. And almost five months now."

"Aww, I bet you guys make an adorable couple." She sighed wistfully. "I can't keep a boyfriend around for two months, tops, before he gets tired of the constant ducking out for me to do the hero thing. Which, I guess isn't a problem when you're on the same team together, but none of the guys up here would even _think_ of going out with me with the shadow of big cousin Kal looming overhead all the time."

Unbidden, Conner's lips twitched into something resembling a smile. "When M'gann and I first started dating, we kept it from the others - but as soon as she found out, Black Canary sat us both down for the Talk."

Supergirl's jaw dropped. "No. Freakin'. Way. _That_ is hilarious- I mean probably not in the _moment,_ but-"

"We can laugh about it now."

"Seriously, I'm _so_ glad I already knew about all that stuff... Still, picturing Kal's face if he had to explain it to me..." She snickered. "So, wait, how old are you anyway? Sixteen, seventeen?"

"Nine months."

After several seconds of gaping, Supergirl's jaw finally started to work again. It took another half a minute for her vocal cords to follow, and then for her mind to catch up. "You- you're, what, a clone?"

"Yeah."

There was another short period of gaping, before something clicked in the girl's head. "...Cadmus?"

He growled out his affirmative rather than use an actual word, but she got the gist of it.

"But... Someone got you out before they could turn you into a weapon. That's what happened, isn't it?"

"Yeah - Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad entered Cadmus Labs when a fire had been set in the upper building, then found their way into the underground levels and all the way down to where I was: Project Kr. Long story short, we ended up fighting our way out, and a week later the Team became an official thing, whenever Batman needs us to carry out covert ops missions." He paused, and tilted his head at Supergirl, who was still staring in shock. "Aren't you a clone?"

"Hell no! Those Cadmus bastards cloned _me,_ and the result has nearly killed me, twice!" Flinching at her yell, Conner suddenly wondered if it was really so much to ask that he couldn't have gotten a bedside watcher who _wasn't_ prejudiced towards clones.

Supergirl noticed his reaction, and quickly regained control of herself. "Ah, look, I'm sorry. I just... Haven't exactly had a positive experience with that big of an invasion of privacy."

"You aren't the only one," Conner muttered.

"Oh?"

"...I didn't know Superman's real name, either of them, until he finally decided to stop avoiding me a few weeks ago and we had our first real conversation." The girl blinked at him, and then her lips pressed together in an irritated expression he recognized from Black Canary.

"Right, then, let's start over here." She reached out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Kara Kent, it's nice to meet you."

Conner stared for half a beat, nonplussed, before he grinned slightly and accepted the gesture. "Conner Kent. Nice to meet you too."

"Good! Now, if you're feeling any better, we can go get some food, then maybe find your girlfriend while we wait for the rest of that team of yours to wake up, sound good?"

He was about to reply that it sounded great when a small explosion shook the room, followed by a familiar yellow and red blur racing by the window.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _Not good not good not goodnotgoodnotgood-_

Wally raced through the unfamiliar base, simultaneously dodging startled, unfamiliar people, looking for a way out, and attempting to escape the man running after him _who was the Flash but not his Uncle Barry._

For a day that had started out so well - their very first stealth mission that went off without a single hitch or hiccup! - it was now a very unfunny nightmare. Hopefully, he could escape from wherever this was, find a way to contact the League since his comlink wasn't working, and then come back for the others-

His thoughts, like his feet, came to a screeching halt when Wally entered a room that finally had windows. Sadly, said windows were overlooking space, with Earth a blue and green mass far, far below.

"Are you flipping _kidding me?!"_ He yelled, getting the attention of the remaining three people (out of three dozen) who hadn't yet been paying attention to the speedster. Everyone one else in the room was frozen, waiting with baited breath to see what the yellow and red clad teen did next.

Thoroughly frustrated and panicked, Wally grabbed bunches of his hair, nearly about to rip them out in frustration when a familiar voice called out to him.

"KF, calm down!" M'gann floated down to where he stood, another martian and a Thanagarian woman close behind her. "It's okay, we're safe here."

"Safe? SAFE! We're who knows how many miles above Earth in a space station full of hundreds of unknown potential hostiles, one of whom is pretending to be my uncle _but isn't-"_

"Wally, enough! We're in a parallel dimension! That Flash isn't your uncle, he's you!"

And just like that, for the second time in as many minutes, the redhead's thoughts crashed to a stop. "...What?" He finally croaked. A slight cough drew his attention off to one side, where the fake-Flash had arrived and was pulling off his cowl, revealing flattened red hair and apologetic green eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that." The other-Wally said bashfully. "If I'd woken up in a room with someone pretending to be Uncle Barry, I probably would've freaked too."

"But- but what happened to him? Where is he?"

At that question, the apology in other-Wally's eyes turned into grief. "...I think I'd better explain that in private."

Dazed, Wally let his older alternate and M'gann guide him from the room, thankfully unaware of all the shocked stares he was still receiving. In fact, the people throughout the command center didn't return to working until Shayera brandished her mace and glared.

Folks jumped back to their respective tasks quicker than the Flash himself.

Meanwhile, the man was wondering how the hell he was going to explain Barry Allen's disappearance six years before at the hands of the yellow speedster to a teen who very clearly still relied on his Uncle. Trying to stall for time, Flash led their little group back in the direction of the medical ward, thankful for J'onn and Shayera clearing the way of curious heroes and civilians. And then, just when it looked like he couldn't delay the explanation any longer, a figure in green launched herself out one of the doors, grappling with Stargirl.

"Artemis!" Both Kid Flash and M'gann yelled at the same time, but it was the teen speedster who reached their teammate first, just as she was rolling to her feet.

Then he surprised all the present League members by pulling her into a deep kiss, which the blonde reciprocated.

"Uh..." Flash turned a quizzical eye to M'gann, who was smirking.

"They spent the first five months arguing non-stop, and now we're lucky if a day goes by that they don't disturb the rest of us with some public kissing." The martian teen explained. "Is the other girl okay?"

"I've been better," Stargirl groaned, being helped to her feet by Shayera. "Seriously, lady, I thought having a bow meant you were a long-distance fighter, not a brawler!"

Finally breaking off her kiss with Kid Flash, the other blonde - Artemis - gave her a predatory grin. "I'm both."

Shayera suddenly blinked. "Oh, please tell me she's not Arrow and Canary's daughter." Artemis glared at her, insulted, while the younger Wally cracked up.

"Please. Ollie wouldn't have a prayer of beating me in a fist fight. And for all Dinah's great moves, she doesn't know half as much about weapons as I do." The teen stated. Shayera arched an eyebrow at her, about to respond, before M'gann suddenly interrupted.

"You know, I could've sworn Conner was more likely to wake up before either of you..."

"I'm awake." Everyone swiveled to stare at the two Supers emerging from another room, thankfully without breaking the door down like their teammates. "I've just been talking to Kara." He walked over to where M'gann was beaming at him, gently taking her hand in his, also to the surprise of several others.

"Well, if _we're_ awake, then the others are sure to be soon too." Artemis piped up. "And I really don't think any of you want to see what Robin's capable of when he wakes up in an unfamiliar place."

Her boyfriend's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh crap. Rob won't go on the all-out offensive like usual - he'll take out whoever's in the room and then vanish into the vents." Immediately, the redhead speeded down the row of private medical recovery rooms, opening each door and sticking his head in before ducking back out. By the time he went all the way into the room on the end, three more teens had emerged with their respective watchers.

"Dare I ask?" Rocket wondered aloud, tipping her head in the direction KF had gone, Vixen snickering behind her. Both versions of Zatanna looked equally confused, while Aqualad was just resigned, not even bothering to try and explain it to the perplexed Dove, standing beside him.

A moment later, Kid Flash dashed back to them, a mixture of irritation and fear on his face. "I was right. Rob's gone, and there's an unconscious dude covered in metal back there."

Flash let out a low whistle of awe. "Daaang. Should've known one of the Bats would be able to take down Steel without anyone noticing. Still, uh, this is a problem now, isn't it?"

"You could say that." Artemis replied blandly. "That little troll is gonna find a place to hack your securities systems, ensure that nothing can track him down, and then start finding out everything he can about this version of the League."

"Well... That's not too bad. I mean, it's not like he's gonna do any malicious damage or anything, right?"

"Probably not." The stress that the younger Wally put on 'probably' did not reassure the League members in the slightest. Sighing, Shayera turned to J'onn.

"Call Batman. Explain, and see if he or any of his kids can come up here to find that boy." Nodding, the martian phased away as the seven remaining teens gained confused expressions.

"'Kids'? As in, more than one?" Raquel asked in bewilderment.

"Nightwing, Batgirl - who's a good friend of mine, by the way - and Robin, who was up here just last month for his twelfth birthday." Supergirl jumped in. "Which turned out to be a very good thing, since he managed to prevent some seriously nasty bad guys from imprisoning the entire League."

She was blinked at by multiple startled teenagers. "Okay, I have _got_ to hear this story." The younger Zatanna said. "But, maybe some food first?"

That was enough to snap Flash out of his concern over the missing kid, who apparently was a younger version of his old friend Dick. "Uh, yeah, let's get you guys to the cafeteria..."

 _A/N: Hoooly crap, I forgot how popular Young Justice stories can be. Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I'm currently on a roll with this, and will be trying to update once a day for as long as the inspiration lasts. After that, since I don't really have any definitive plans beyond chapter 8, we'll just have to see where it goes!_

 _-Triscribe_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was official - the sheer number of members that this Justice League had was starting to make Artemis uneasy. The Hawkwoman without a mask or armor, J'onn wearing much less of a uniform than she was used to, even the older version of Wally in his uncle's suit she could deal with. But as they traveled from the medical ward to the mess hall, she counted a minimum of seventeen superheroes and thirty two people in matching purple jumpsuits, whom Artemis assumed were civilian employees. At one point, their group walked down a hallway lined with windows that looked out onto half a dozen mini-watchtowers orbiting the central station they were in.

Mind. Blowing.

Probably the only thing keeping her from outright freaking and finding a defensible position was Wally, sticking close to her side with Artemis' hand held firmly in his own. "You as weirded out by all this as I am?" The redhead murmured to her at one point.

"Hell yes." She replied. "If our League gets this big, I doubt there'll be any crooks _left_ to fight."

"You'd be surprised!" Supergirl called back to them from where she'd been talking to Conner and M'gann. Artemis and Wally shared an exasperated look over aliens and super-hearing.

Then they entered the cafeteria, and all conversation stopped as everyone within turned their attention to the seven teens.

Flash grinned and waved. "Hey folks! These are the guys from another dimension, as you probably guessed, and they aren't gonna be made any more comfortable by being stared at like zoo exhibits." Despite the friendly tone, something steely in his words had the heroes reluctantly turning back to their own meals and conversations.

"Thank you," Kaldur murmured to the older version of their teammate.

"No problem, dude. I figured some of your friends aren't used to all the interest." Older-Wally winked, then sped over to the serving line and back, handing each of the teens a tray. "So! Help yourselves, even you Kid, 'cause I promise we've got enough to go around."

Still on edge, the Team members made their way over to the food, each picking up whatever seemed appealing - steamed vegetables, meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, fruit salad, buttered rolls, even a variety of pudding, gelatin and cupcakes for dessert.

"I think I like being at the Mountain better, where I can actually cook something for myself," Zatanna murmured, earning an inquiry from her alternate self.

"Mountain?"

"Mount Justice - it's our Team's headquarters, and where M'gann, Conner and I all live."

The older Zatanna frowned. "Aren't you a little young to be living by yourselves?"

"Well, the others couldn't exactly move in anywhere else, though that might change now that Superman's actually talking to Conner, and it was my only option after my dad..." She trailed off, focusing on dumping some mashed potatoes on her plate while fighting off the tears that welled up. The elder magician sensed that this was a touchy subject, and while she may have been dying to know what happened to her father in the parallel world, Zatanna also knew when to leave well enough alone.

"Hey, it's okay, we can talk about it later, alright?"

"Y-yeah, that's fine." Seeking to provide a distraction, the older of the two nudged her other self and gestured towards the end of the line. Younger Zatanna giggled when she saw the sheer amount of food both speedsters had piled onto their respective trays - enough that both really should've had two trays in order to make sure all the stuff didn't topple over.

Artemis was thinking the same thing, as she paused before leaving the line to smack the back of her boyfriend's head. "Ever heard of coming back for seconds, Baywatch?"

"Hey, it's less than he has!" Wally's protest just prompted an eyeroll from the blonde archer, before the both of them followed Supergirl and the others to an empty table. Actually, it was more like three tables that had been pulled together, to make sure there was more than enough room for the Team and their 'watchers', none of whom had yet to go back to whatever other jobs they had.

"So," Vixen started off the conversation once everyone had a chance to swallow at least a few mouthfuls. "How'd your little group manage to get transported between dimensions, anyway?"

"We... Are not entirely sure." Aqualad admitted. "We were returning from a routine mission-"

"Which actually went _smoothly_ for once," Artemis muttered under her breath.

"-and had taken a short detour so as drop Kid Flash off at Central City-"

"Rogues were out in force again," the teen speedster explained, gaining a noise of sympathy from his elder self.

"-when a sudden storm caught us off guard-"

"There was _nothing_ to indicate where it came from - the skies had been perfectly clear before that." M'gann said in a sorrowful tone.

Kaldur sighed, and plowed on regardless of the numerous interruptions. "-and we were hit by a bolt of lighting, which oddly enough came from below rather than above."

"Huh." Dove jumped in. "Could someone have followed you from your mission objective? What was it, anyway?" The Team all exchanged wary glances.

 _*Technically, they ARE the League...*_ Raquel pointed out.

 _*Yeah, but we still don't have any real reason to trust them.*_

 _*C'mon, Artemis, they don't seem that bad.*_

 _*Kara's decent. And I don't think she or any of the others have been faking their concern for us.*_

 _*Are you sure you're not just saying that because she's another Kryptonian, Conner?*_

Flash watched the subtle looks and facial ticks for a few moments before he finally got what was happening. "Oh! You guys are having a psychic conversation, aren't you? I never could get used to J'onn doing that..." Several of the teens flinched at his intrusion.

"Sorry." M'gann apologized. "It's... kind of second nature to us all by now."

"And a handy way to check in with your teammates without risk of being overheard," Stargirl murmured.

"Well, other telepaths can break into the link, which has been harmful in the past... But for the most part, yes, it does come in handy."

"Does that mean you guys were debating whether or not to trust us with sensitive information?" Vixen raised an eyebrow at them.

"It's just... We are not sure whether to consider such details as classified or not, in a parallel world." Aqualad explained slowly.

"Would it help if you talked about it with your assignment-assigner in the room?" Flash asked, finally finishing off the food on his tray. In the blink of an eye, he'd vanished and reappeared, with a second helping of everything. "Who is that, anyway?"

"Batman."

Stargirl snorted. "Figures."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's on his way already." Shayera finally spoke up, from where she'd perched herself at a table next to theirs - present but not intruding. It wasn't even a full three seconds later that the entrance to the cafeteria slid open again, revealing a man in the familiar cape and cowl.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear," the elder Zatanna grinned. "Glad you could make it, B!"

"These are them?" Batman asked as he approached, eyes scanning over the new arrivals. Kaldur promptly stood and extended his hand.

"Greetings. I am Aqualad, also known as Kaldur'ahm, and this is my Team: Kid Flash, Artemis, Zatanna, Superboy, Miss Martian and Rocket. We are currently missing our eighth member, Robin, though it is highly likely he's still within the Watchtower."

The Gotham hero briefly shook with the Atlantean, his eyes narrowed in a calculating gaze rather than his usual glare. "So I was informed. I've set Batgirl to checking all security measures for signs of hacking, left Nightwing in the javelin bay in case your teammate tries to run that way, and sent our Robin up into the vents to look for him."

Aqualad nodded. "Thank you. We'd search for him ourselves, but unfortunately your Watchtower is of a greatly different design than that of our world, and Miss Martian's long distance telepathy has not yet recovered."

"My mental senses can at least detect that he's relatively nearby, but if I try to extend them more than a few yards, I grow dizzy and have to struggle to keep from blacking out again." The teen explained with a grimace. Superboy reached out and rubbed her back soothingly, while Rocket gave the other girl a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

"Regardless, my people will find him." Batman offered gruffly. "In the meantime, we need to figure out what brought you here, and how to reverse it if we're to send you home again."

The Team once again shared various looks, but even without the mind link, they knew what the answer would be this time.

"Then we shall explain in full detail, starting from the beginning..."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _This is a standard stealth mission,_ their Batman had begun. _A former testing ground for military weaponry was bought by LexCorp recently, though there is little to nothing that Luthor could - legally - be using it for. We've kept an eye on the place, and recently begun to detect bursts of energy nearly identical to the type you were sent to investigate in Bialya last September._

 _Off-world tech shipments, then, from either Apokalips or New Genesis._ Superboy guessed.

 _That is what we suspect. However, as the facility boasts a large hangar and underground bunker, it's entirely likely that Luthor is keeping whatever he's receiving on the premises._

Robin cackled at that. _Which allows_ us _the option of getting in to snag a peek at the stuff._

 _Exactly._ Batman paused for half a moment to sigh. _In the probable event that something goes wrong and you are discovered, there is a town nearby with a hidden League comm console on the outskirts, behind the southern bus stop. It is a twenty minute straight run to the town, moving steadily - less than that by bio-ship or superspeed. If you need help and cannot use the comlinks for whatever reason, then send someone to call us._

 _Understood, Batman._

And yet, for possibly the first time since they'd formed the Team, nothing went wrong.

Aqualad deployed them flawlessly, with Superboy and Rocket entering the hangar from the skylights, Robin and Zatanna sneaking in a side entrance, and the remaining four teens keeping to the nearby treeline. There'd been one moment when a guard nearly entered the room where their youngest member was hacking the computer systems, before Superboy tossed a discarded scrap of metal down the stairs, making a distracting clinking sound. The guard turned back, Robin finished his download, and then the pair slipped away. At the same time, Rocket and Zatanna successfully snatched one of the devices that had been delivered, one of several large cubes which appeared to be integrated flesh and metal, to take back for the League to study.

The return trip was one of good cheer, with Kaldur calling ahead to inform Batman of their success. He responded that the League members who'd be interested in the Team's find would be busy for some time yet, and that he himself would not be back to Mount Justice for forty minutes at the least.

There had, apparently, been no expectations from the adults that their students and partners would be finished so quickly.

Ignoring the sting of that, the teens nonetheless relaxed as they headed back to base, up until Wally got a message from his uncle about Central's sudden Rogue problem - Trickster, Pied Piper and Weather Wizard making a mess of things downtown while Captain Cold, Mirror Master and Captain Boomerang robbed three different stores.

The others happily agreed to make the detour so as to give Flash a hand, several of them eager for a fight since the mission had been decidedly lacking any sort of violence. One minute they were cruising along normally-

-And the next, black clouds boiled into existence around the bio-ship, forcing M'gann to struggle to keep them from crashing. Everyone else held on tight, up until the moment that the bolt of orange lightning struck from the direction of the ground. And the next thing any of them knew, they were waking up in the parallel dimension.

By the time Kaldur finished his explanation, with several comments from the others added in, he'd gained the unwavering attention of not just the League members gathered around their table, but throughout the entire cafeteria. The young Atlantean would not have been surprised in the least had he learned that others throughout the Watchtower were watching and listening the security feed from the mess hall as well.

Shayera was the first to speak up in the following silence. "I hate to say it, but would it be possible for the entire thing to have been a trap? That they allowed you to grab one of those cubes so that it could transport you here?"

Kid Flash slapped a hand to his forehead. "God, I hope not. Our one and only perfect mission, completely bogus..."

"Utterly un-asterous." Zatanna added, getting a weak chuckle out of each of her teammates.

"Un-asterous?" Dove asked in confusion.

"Something Robin would say - he likes messing around with prefixes to see what other words he can come up with. Like disaster, aster-"

"Fusion, confusion." Superboy added.

"Traught, distraught." Artemis put it.

"Whelmed." They all said at once. And again, every Leaguer present stared in open bewilderment.

"Just ignore him when he does it, it's the only way to stay sane around that kid." Rocket told them.

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" A familiar voice cackled from overhead. Instantly, two dark haired boys in nearly identical red, black and yellow uniforms had landed on the tabletop, thankfully missing the various trays of half-eaten food.

Artemis glared up at the open vent entrance they'd exited from. "Is it even possible for you to enter a room like a _normal_ person?"

"Not especially," the slightly taller of the two Robins snickered, flipping off of the table to stand beside a bemused Aqualad. "Because where's the fun in being normal?"

"My thoughts exactly!" His counterpart grinned, also getting off the furniture. "Batman, why hasn't anyone ever told me Nightwing was this awesome as a kid?"

The Dark Knight merely raised an eyebrow at his youngest partner, while the other Team members blinked.

"Wait - you two aren't the same guy?" Zatanna asked, causing their Robin to smirk.

"Nope! C'mon, Z, there's an older you, an older Wally and a slightly older Roy in this dimension - did you really think there wouldn't be an older me as well? And by the way, KF, I've got some bad news for you." The smaller teen turned to his best friend with a solemn expression, causing the redhead to grow uneasy.

"What? What's different here that's bad news?"

"In another few years, I will be taller than you." There was a beat before Wally's jaw dropped in disbelief, and Robin burst out into his signature cackles.

"...No way." A grin started to tug its way onto Artemis' face as well, about the same time that other-Wally groaned.

"Yes way. One of the worst days of my life was when that jerk showed up at my place for a party, a good month since I'd last seen him, and standing a good inch taller than my six feet." The Flash said miserably.

"Are you still complaining about that? It's been more than six years, West, just accept reality already." Coming in through the cafeteria doors was a dark-haired man in his mid twenties, wearing a black jumpsuit with a blue design on the front, vaguely bird-shaped. He was followed by a smirking young redheaded woman in a variation of Batman's uniform.

Supergirl stood from the table and went to hug the female newcomer, while the man went straight to Flash and lightly smacked the back of his head. "You have got to be the biggest whiner aboard this orbital monster."

Older-Wally chuckled, despite rubbing at the spot where he'd been whacked. "Yeah, well, at least it gets me attention, right?" He finally noticed that seven out of the eight inter-dimensional teens were gaping at his old friend. "Oh, guys, this is Nightwing, former Robin in his own right."

M'gann lifted a hand to point at the newcomer, then shifted it to their youngest teammate (who appeared as though he was about to explode from excitement) and back again.

Nightwing's lips twitched into a half-smile. "Yes, I was once a pipsqueak too, and no, he isn't going to get the growth spurts for at least a few years yet."

"Aw, man." Robin put on an expression of distaste, but everyone could tell he was still excited. "There goes my hope of attending Wally's high school graduation and being able to look down at the top of his cap."

"Dude!"

Aqualad suddenly twitched, and sent a questioning glance to Batman, ignoring Kid Flash's delayed reaction and sudden protests. "I believe it was said that this world has an older redheaded archer. Does that mean we are liable to meet this dimension's elder Roy Harper as well?"

"Only if our Green Arrow has contacted him, which something in me doubts very much."

"Ah."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Surprisingly enough, Ollie _did_ get in touch with Roy, and a little while later both of them showed up in the cafeteria, along with Black Canary and a bright eyed, red haired toddler held firmly in the young man's arms.

"Alright," Speedy asked grouchily as the archers approached. "What is so important that GA insisted I get up here pronto, without even giving me time... to..." He trailed off as he finally caught sight of the eight teens, and Artemis in particular. Then the young man turned to his former mentor with an incredulous expression.

"They're cross-dimensional travelers." Ollie explained. "Don't worry, you aren't getting a little sister."

"Oh, ha ha, hilarious. If I wasn't holding Lian, you'd be running from my arrows right about now."

Artemis blinked, stiffening, but only her boyfriend noticed, and he didn't think anything of it. Meanwhile, the alternate Roy had turned back to their group, studying each of the teens in turn. Aqualad ended up running through the introductions again, as he'd done a few times already when various League members came up to greet to the Team. They'd already met the other dimensional Wonder Woman (who seemed quite nicer than their own), Green Lantern (who'd kissed Vixen while Shayera looked vaguely uncomfortable), Vigilante and Shining Knight (both of whom were hilarious to watch interact), Dove's big brother Hawk (who nearly got into a fist fight with Conner and Artemis), and the Question (possibly the weirdest person present, though Robin seemed to like him). It was this last, who after being a silent observer to their conversation for a few minutes, left to apparently go get someone.

Now, with a few more semi-familiar faces present, things seemed to be about to get interesting again. Roy was in the process of introducing his daughter Lian to the teens, ignoring M'gann coming over to coo over the little girl. He did not, however, ignore Artemis' approach, especially since the blonde had an odd look on her face.

"Who's her mother?" The younger archer asked, bending slightly to study the toddler's face.

Roy froze up, and Ollie chuckled nervously. "Y'know, he's never actually told me, despite how much I've nagged him over it. What makes you ask?"

"Because my _middle name_ is Lian," Artemis straightened, glaring at Roy. "And this kid happens to have the exact same eyes as my _sister."_

The elder archer blinked. "Jade's got a sister?"

"HA!" To late, Roy realized his mistake, and winced as all eight inter-dimensional teens fixed him with gazes that ranged from murderous to startled to perturbed.

Oliver, meanwhile, looked around at them in a state of confusion. "Uh, Jade who?"

His former partner grimaced, and decided that hearing it from _him_ would be the lesser of two evils. "Jade Nguyen, Ollie. Cheshire."

A beat passed in silence.

"YOU GOT TOGETHER WITH AN _ASSASSIN?!"_

"Aaand _there_ comes the hissy fit I'd been trying to avoid for two years," Roy groaned. "And it was only a couple of times before we went our separate ways-"

"Clearly one time too many!" Dinah's slap came a moment too late, though, as Ollie saw the look of rage on his ward's face and realized he'd gone too far.

"So, what, are you going honestly going to tell me that after loving your granddaughter all this time, she's suddenly a monster who never should have come into being?" Roy spat. "You are such a hypocrite! Don't think I don't know about that fling with Sandra Hawke back in the day-" His angered tirade was cut off when Lian started to cry, and immediately all of Roy's attention was on his little girl. Everyone still present watched in silence as he soothed the toddler, getting her to go back to a state of giggling.

"No, I'm not going to look at Lian any different," Ollie said softly after a few minutes. "But I really wish it hadn't taken visitors from a parallel world to get you to share this with me, Roy."

The redhead looked at him incredulously, about to offer a retort when Artemis jumped back into the thick of things.

"Clearly, you two are almost as messed up as our Green and Red Arrows." She rolled her eyes. " _Just_ as clearly, I'm going to demand you tell me any and everything about you and Jade, because there had _better_ have been something mutual in that relationship, no matter how short it was. And I am _not_ going to become an aunt without _some_ form of a heads up, damn it!"

"Consider this your heads up." The younger Robin said in a dry tone, grinning when the blonde turned to level her glare onto him. Their Robin cackled, giving his - evidently not alternate, but successor? - a very non-subtle high five. Artemis took a deep, calming breath, forcing herself not to go ballistic on the pair of brats.

"Okay, um..." Roy glanced around, just then realizing how big of an attentive audience they had. "...You mind if we take this somewhere more private, though?"

"I think it would perhaps be a good idea if we all attended to separate tasks for a while." Aqualad murmured, to which Batman agreed. The Team ended up splitting to go in several different directions for some private conversations: Artemis with the Arrows, Kid Flash and Zatanna with their respective alternate-selves, Superboy and Miss Martian with Supergirl to go find Superman and J'onn, Rocket and Aqualad with Batman to check out the cube they'd gotten on their mission, and Robin with the remaining three Gotham heroes.

As soon as she was alone in a training room with Roy, Lian, Ollie and Dinah, Artemis crossed her arms. "Alright. Talk."

With just the two of them in his other self's quarters, Wally fixed the man with a pointed look. "Okay. Now what happened to Uncle Barry?"

Ducking into one of the medical rooms, one Zatanna took a seat on the bed, the other on a chair. "Okay. Now what's up with Dad in your world?"

Taking an elevator up to the command center, Conner sent a slightly nervous look to Kara. "You sure he's gonna be okay meeting me?"

"If not, I'm gonna punch him." M'gann beamed at the dead serious expression on the other Kryptonian's face, eager to finish the transfer of information she and this version of J'onn had begun on the bio-ship. As alone as the grown martian was, she figured he was looking forward to it as well.

Raquel briefly squeezed Kaldur's hand as they went down to the javelin bay with Batman, idly wondering if there was an Icon in this world for her to meet. Her team leader, meanwhile, was silently debating whether or not he should like to encounter the Aquaman of this dimension, seeing as several League members had been quite surprised at how polite he was compared to the only other Atlantean they'd met.

Reaching a storage bay he'd already hidden from sensors and security cameras, the newcomer Robin pulled off his mask and looked expectantly to his older self and future partners. "Alright. First off - what the heck happened to make _Babs_ of all people become Batgirl? How long from now should I start keeping my eyes peeled for the name Tim Drake? And is there anyone else in the family I should know about?"

Nightwing grinned as he removed his own mask, revealing a pair of blue eyes that matched the younger teen's exactly. "Sit down, kid, and we'll start at the beginning..."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Okay," Roy began wearily, taking a seat with Lian in his lap. "It started about two and a half years ago, when I went undercover in the League of Shadows. The whole point was to gain a working understanding of their organization, gain whatever info I could that would put away both the members themselves and those who'd hire them."

Artemis frowned. "You didn't know Cheshire before that?"

"Not really. Ollie and I had fought her once in Star, but that was ages ago, when I was still a gawky teen. A few added inches and a whole lot more muscle, coupled with the persona I developed for myself, meant that no one recognized me."

"...Not sure I can really bring myself to believe that, but fine."

"Anyway, Cheshire was one of the assassins I trained with. There were a few times I had to pretend to kill someone, and then smuggle them away later so that my cover wasn't blown, and she caught on after a while."

Ollie and Dinah, having not heard this tale before, were just as taken aback as Artemis. "That's... Not typical for a Shadow." The grown woman said slowly.

"Yeah, I know. Imagine my surprise when she confronted me about it. That was the first time that we... ahem, anyway. After that, Jade said she wouldn't turn me in, as long as she was left out of whatever the people I was working for left her out of the coming conflict." Roy shrugged. "I didn't tell her I was a hero, rather than the agent of a rival organization. We stayed together for a little while longer, until she got sent on an extended assignment, and then came the time for me to pull out of the operation."

"Did you turn in info on her along with whatever other stuff you got your hands on?" Artemis questioned him, her eyes narrowing.

"No, I didn't, and not a single one of you is allowed to Gibbs slap me for it."

Oliver rolled his eyes as the two ladies chuckled. "Alright, Romeo Redhead, next problem - if you never told Cheshire who you really were, how'd you wind up with Lian?"

"Your guess is as good as mine for that. Almost a year and a half after I'd last seen her, I walked into my apartment to find Jade waiting for me. She had her neutral expression on, the one where it looks like she's perfectly fine on the outside-"

"-but the clenched jaw and tense shoulders tell you she's really torn up about something inside." Artemis finished for him. "Yeah, I remember when she'd get like that."

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I wasn't sure whether to believe it before or not, but I guess you really are her sister."

"Yep. Now, keep going, what did Jade say to you?"

"Only that the League of Shadows was no place for a child. Then she tilted her head to the end of the sofa, and when I walked over to look, Lian was sound asleep in a baby carrier." Roy grinned ruefully, running a hand over his little girl's head. "I guess the hair was some sort of clue as to who I really was - while undercover, I'd dyed it black."

"Yeaaah, bright red hair, archery skills - I doubt it took her more than a few days of wondering and fact-checking to figure it out." Artemis agreed, rubbing at her temples. "Still, I guess that helps a little, though I doubt things are gonna turn out like that where I'm from."

"Why's that?"

"There's no way our Roy would sign himself up for an undercover mission like that, he's too well known to the bad guys and... Is more than a bit busy right now with other issues." There was _no way_ she was about to bring the clone thing up with these people. "Although... I did see Jade kiss him once, on a mission."

The others all blinked at her. "In _uniform?"_ Ollie asked, shocked.

"Weirded the hell out of me, too. And Red Arrow, come to think of it - Cheshire knocked down and pinned him, then pulled off her mask for what _looked_ like a one-sided kiss." Artemis growled. "But if I find out that they're already doing stuff together behind the scenes, _both_ those idiots are gonna get a razor arrow to their-"

She was cut off by the training room door sliding open unexpectedly. Question stalked inside, followed by a bemused, dark haired woman in a black and purple outfit with white edging on her long cape.

"What do you two want?" Dinah asked irritatedly.

"Don't ask me," the newcomer said cooly, while Artemis took a step back from how close the Question was getting in her personal space. "All I know is that Q here showed up while I was on patrol, requested emergency transport for both of us up to the 'tower, and then dragged me here. We're lucky I saw the pair of martians on the way and know what's going on from them." She glanced over and spotted the uncomfortable look on Artemis' face, sighed, and caught the back of Question's coat. "Don't scare the kid, babe."

"I noticed a few similarities I wanted to check with the both of you present in the same room." The blank-faced man explained.

"And that means standing invasively close to me?" Artemis snapped. "I like my distance, thank you very much."

"Which is why you and the alternate Wally West were practically glued at the hip in the cafeteria," Question said in a tone that made it seem as though he were smirking.

"He's my _boyfriend,_ you jerk." The teen shot back. "Friends and loved ones being close to me is one thing, _you_ are another."

"Kid's got a point Q." The woman in purple rolled her eyes, stepping around the man in order to look Artemis straight in the eye. "Hi there. I'm Huntress."

And just like that, is was as though the floor had dropped out from underneath the blonde girl.

"W-what?" She gasped, stumbling back. "But you're- _what?!"_

"Whoa, easy Artemis," Ollie stood and caught the teen before she could fall. "I take it there's a Huntress where you come from?"

"Th-there was," she said weakly. "That- that was the persona my mom used, back when she was an active thief, before a heist went bad and she lost the use of her legs."

Everyone's eyes went wide - or at least, everyone's except Question's, but it was clear even he was taken aback by the statement. "You are the daughter of Helena Bertinelli?"

"What? No, Paula Crock-" Artemis stopped as the Huntress across from her sagged in relief. "Which, isn't you name, I guess."

"Definitely not." The woman paused, thinking for a moment. "Is your mom Vietnamese?"

"Yeah."

"...Was her maiden name Brooks, by any chance?"

"Yeah!"

"Huh." Helena stared at the girl. " _My_ mom's maiden name was Brooks, and she had a sister with a daughter of her own, last I knew, which was a long time ago."

"So, what, we're cousins?" Artemis tried for a dry chuckle, but couldn't seem to control her own features.

"Which would explain the physical similarities I already noted," Question spoke up. "As well as the near-identical personality and attitude characteristics."

" _That's_ why you came to get me without a word of explanation? Because this kid reminded you of the way I handle myself?" Helena arched an irritated eyebrow at the man, while Roy, nearly forgotten off to one side, fought desperately to contain his desire to burst out laughing. He could certainly see the similar traits between Artemis and Huntress, too - and recalled enough of Jade's personality to know that the Question had better be _veeery_ careful with how he responded to his girlfriend's inquiry...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sighing as the inevitable conversation had finally arrived, Flash looked his younger alternate in the eye. "First thing's first. You're fifteen or sixteen, right?"

"Sixteen."

"Who do you live with?"

KF blinked. "Uh, what?"

"Who do you live with as a civilian?"

"My parents. Why?"

The grown redhead sighed again. "When I was about ten, my dad lost his job. He took up drinking and beating on Mom to relieve the stress while looking for another. She skipped town after a few months of it, and I became his target instead. It lasted until Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry came for a visit, found out, and had me removed from his custody to be placed into theirs."

To say the teenager was stunned would be a severe understatement.

"I'm not telling you this to try and scare you with possibilities of what the future might hold, it's just a bit of background. Guessing you're the same as me when it came to becoming a speedster, though."

"...Uh, found out Barry was the Flash, replicated his experiment, got three days in the hospital with severe burns to show for it?"

"Yeah, exactly." The elder West chuckled. "God, they lectured me so bad about that... And then the superspeed kicked in, and it was _my_ turn to start being irritating."

"Bugged Uncle B 'til he gave in and let you be Kid Flash?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Best five years of my life, even considering that for four of them I was forced into attending high school!"

"...So, what happened."

"Ah, well, me and Barry were out on patrol one day when this other speedster showed up. Never got a name, and all I could see of his costume was that it looked like Flash's, just with a reversed color scheme. But anyway, I took a hit and got knocked to the ground. By the time I was back on my feet, the two of them had vanished."

"What, they took off, or-?"

"Disappeared right where they were standing. I didn't know what had happened at the time, but after a fight a couple months ago, I got a better understanding. You ever heard of something called the Speed Force?"

"No..."

"Consider that to be a good thing." KF's eyes narrowed in concern as his alternate grew distant for a moment, before snapping back to their conversation. "Basically, I was running so fast to take a guy down that I circled the globe in less than five seconds. Repeatedly."

The teen gaped at him.

"Yeah, I know, crazy high speeds. The downside being that when I beat the guy and tried to return to normal, I faded away, right in front of the other founders. I really lucked out, and they were able to pull me back into the physical world, but for a minute there I was running in this infinite space of color and energy.

"The Speed Force," the younger Wally whispered.

"Exactly. It's like... This wellspring of power for speedsters. And I think, when they fought, Barry and that reverse Flash guy vibrated to such a high frequency that they blasted themselves into it."

"Do you think it would be possible to pull them back out?"

"I dunno... And to be honest, I'm scared to try. Like I told Shayera and the others when they pulled me out - if I ever go that fast again, I don't think I'm coming back from it."

The pair of redheads sat in silence for a little while, contemplating what they'd talked about before the younger of them came up with another question.

"Hey... Is Aunt Iris still around, at least?" At the expression his other self gained, the teen immediately wished he could've kept his mouth shut.

"She disappeared a few months after Barry. I'd at least turned eighteen and graduated by then, so Social Services wasn't about to stick with me a foster family or anything, but... I kinda broke down for a little while. Gave up the superhero gig, just focused on working enough to pay for college."

"Gave up? Didn't the Rogues go crazy?"

"Nah, they had a crime spree for a few days, up until it was clear neither Flash or Kid Flash were coming back. Then they just, faded into the background. I seriously doubt they took up regular jobs or anything, but stopped with the advanced weaponry and the costumes and what-not when they pulled their heists - and nothing big or dramatic, either, just enough to get by."

"Being a villain is just the job," the younger Wally murmured.

"Right - I don't think I can honestly say how many times Captain Cold said that to me growing up." The elder said fondly. "...We've really got the weirdest enemies out of all the heroes, don't we?"

"Are you kidding? You should've seen Rob's face the first time he visited me in Central, and Trickster insisted on dragging both of us back to the Rogues' current HQ so he could introduce Robin to all the others." They shared a laugh, one which dragged much longer than was warranted as the pair got out all the negative emotions from their talk.

They'd just about recovered when another question came up.

"So, wait, what did you mean earlier when you said 'the other founders'?..."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"He's..." The younger Zatanna sighed, her eyes dropping to the floor. "He's Doctor Fate now."

The other magician blinked. "Um. Excuse me - isn't Kent Nelson supposed to be Doc Fate?"

"Not anymore. Actually, not for a long time. I hadn't met the Team yet, but there was a mission where they went to the Tower of Fate to check on the old guy, since he'd been missing for a month with no word to any of his friends. It turned out there was a plot in works by Abra Kadabra and Klarion the Witch Boy, which the others were able to stop, but Nelson ended up dying that night."

"Hn. That's not good. What happened with the Helmet?"

"Wally wound up with, after wearing the thing long enough to beat Klarion. He brought it back to Mount Justice, and there was another mission - also before I came along - where Kaldur put the thing on to defeat Wotan and the members of the Injustice League."

Elder-Zatanna's eyes widened. "A bunch of kids went up against those A-list monsters?"

"Well, the rest of Earth's heroes were busy trying to stop an army of plant monsters from causing mass chaos and destruction."

"Ah. Gotcha."

"Anyway, after those two occasions, Nabu wasn't too happy about his Helmet going back on a shelf in Mount Justice. Then, there was a magical incident that happened while Dad and I were visiting the Team - several evil magicians, including Klarion, Wotan, Faust, and a couple others, worked a Dimensional Displacement spell."

Her older self frowned. "That many heavy-weight casters, they must have been up to something big..."

"They were. They split Earth into a pair of realities - one for kids, one for adults eighteen and older."

"Ohhh, that's _really_ bad."

"Yeah. The whole thing was meant as a distraction for an organization of bad guys called the Light, but we didn't know that at the time. The only reason we were able to fix things was thanks to Captain Marvel-"

"-because he's really a ten year old form-changer, who could go back and forth!" The woman grinned. "Brilliant."

"Lucky. Anyway, when we went to fight Klarion... I brought the Helmet of Fate with me. And ended up putting it on."

"Let me guess - based off of what you said earlier, Nabu decided not to give up a third host so easily, did he?"

The teen sighed. "No. And rather than see my life wasted like that, Dad made a deal - to put on the Helmet himself if Nabu released me." Tears started to slip down her face, and the elder magician shifted seating places so as to wrap an arm around her younger self. "I _knew_ what I was getting into, it was _my_ choice, and he still- he-"

"Shh, I know, he covered for you like any good parent would." The two of them stayed like that for a while, just letting the emotions flow through the air and clear away. Once the teen regained control of herself, her older alternate conjured up a box of tissues for her.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"...What about over here?"

The elder Zatanna raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean what happened to Dad in this dimension? He retired a while back, giving me the show to run and settling in this dinky little retirement village in Florida." Her younger self gaped, causing the woman to chuckle. "Crazy, I know, but we can go visit him if you'd like."

She wasn't prepared for the sudden, bone-breaking hug, but in hindsight supposed she should've been expecting it.

-RL-

As Conner was expecting, this dimension's version of Superman was a bit wary of him at first. But then Kara had jumped in, talking about some of the things the teen clone had already brought up with her, and then encouraged him to pick up the thread and keep going. So, he told the two other Kryptonians about the rescue from Cadmus, his early days with the Team and Black Canary's anger management lessons, all the way up to starting school and entering into a relationship with M'gann.

" _That's_ something that I think all of us still find surprising," Clark mentioned at one point, glancing over to where the pair of green-skinned heroes were sitting, blissfully ignoring everything else as they enjoyed conversing through a mindlink. "There's really still a thriving martian culture in your universe?"

"Well, sure. It's just... I'd say it's thriving more for certain people than others." Conner said awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Oh?" Kara asked.

"Uh... There are different types of martians. Greens are the biggest, population wise, and I guess the most in charge. They also discriminate pretty badly against the White martians, which M'gann is one of. She snuck onto J'onn's bio-ship to escape the prejudice by moving to Earth."

"That's terrible!" The female Kryptonian looked as though she'd like nothing more than to go sock a bullying Green martian in the face.

"I don't think I've ever heard our J'onn mention other colors of martians before," Clark muttered, to which Conner could only shrug.

"Could be there weren't any in this universe. I mean, there's a lot that different here, or so I've gathered, anyway."

"Well, I'm sure there's one thing that's just the same, or at least pretty close - Ma Kent's homemade apple pie."

"Ooh, can we head to the farm for a bit, Clark? Ma and Pa have GOT to meet this kid." Kara beamed, previous anger cooling off.

"We could probably spare an hour or two. Come on Conner, we can fly out the-"

"I can't fly."

Both the older heroes paused to stare at the apologetic teen. "Um, what?"

"I can't fly." Conner repeated, looking to the ground. "No heat vision, either, or some other things. I'm not as strong as a full-blooded Kryptonian, either."

"Full-blooded? What do you mean?"

"When Cadmus first tried cloning Superman's DNA, the first experiment, Project Match, was insane and uncontrollable. So, I was take two, when they mixed human DNA in, to make me easier to control."

"Oh, Conner..." Kara stepped forward and hugged, which was startling but not entirely unappreciated.

"You know," Clark said as he gently grasped the teen's shoulder. "I couldn't fly as a kid.

"Y-you couldn't...?"

"Nope. Not until I was sixteen. Granted, I was able to jump pretty far distances, and sometime it _almost_ felt like I'd managed to fly for a minute before coming back down, but true flight like I've got now didn't come until I was a teenager."

"Hey, that's right! You said you're not even a full year old yet, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So, the rest of your abilities will probably come when you start getting older on the inside to match what you look like on the outside." Kara's expression was so determined, and Clark's so confident, that a tiny part of Conner couldn't help but believe them. Or at least, hope that their theories were true.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"It's certainly similar to Apokaliptan tech we've seen before," Batman finally said after looking over the stolen cube in the bio-ship's hold. "But the organic aspect is very different."

"Not to mention disturbing." Rocket added under her breath.

"I'm going to call in a few specialists to examine it more thoroughly." Though it was a statement, Batman nonetheless paused and glanced at Aqualad, who nodded. Once the Gotham crimefighter stepped out of the ship, Kaldur's shoulders slumped slightly and he sighed. Raquel took a step forward, pushed his arm up and tucked herself underneath it.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked after a quiet moment, the warmth in her voice assuring Kaldur that he'd be speaking to Raquel, his sort-of girlfriend, rather than Rocket, his teammate. The difference was appreciated, as it meant he could sound as unsure as he felt, without a need to appear strong.

"I am concerned that even with the help of this League, we will be unable to return home." Kaldur admitted. Raquel tightened the arm she'd slipped around his waist.

"We'll figure it out, Kal. Just you wait and see." She smiled at him. "And even if we don't for a while, at least we've got allies on this side. Can you imagine if we'd wound up someplace _without_ a League?"

"You are correct as usual. I'm simply having a harder time than usual in focusing on the positive."

"Uh-huh. That's why you've got me around, honey." They remained in their embrace for a few minutes more, separating when hearing the sound of Batman's return along with his 'specialists'.

Who, as it turned out, were a trio of New Gods.

"These are the newcomers?" One of them, a man in a red suit with a silver helmet, asked grumpily.

"Two of the eight. Aqualad and Rocket." Batman replied, before adding the other introductions. "These are some of our members from New Genesis - Orion, Barda and Mister Miracle."

"Nice to meet you," the smaller of the two men smiled, extending a hand. "I hear there's been a bit of an issue with some technology from our neck of the universe."

"Possibly. We are still not entirely certain what caused our inter-dimensional shift." Kaldur accepted the handshake first, followed by Raquel. Neither of the other New Gods bothered with the same exchange, their attention immediately drawn to the cube. When the trio gathered around it, they exchanged several murmured words of a language none of the Earth-based heroes could understand. After a while, Mister Miracle turned back to them, clearly concerned.

"It's... I'm not even sure how to go about describing this." He sighed, running a hand over his masked face. "It's like a twisted blend of both Mother and Father-box tech, which come from New Genesis and Apokalips, respectively. As for the fleshy-stuff... The best we can say is that it's a living being, something specifically grown to power the box and give it rudimentary intelligence."

"Oh, do _not_ tell me we brought something sentient onto our ship without knowing it." Raquel dramatically slapped a hand over her eyes, and Kaldur was hard-pressed to resist a brief flicker of a smile.

"Not sentient," the woman, Barda, spoke up. "But definitely aware. As far as we can tell, it's probably what brought you here, but only after being triggered by a specific energy signature."

The teens shared a look and spoke in sync: "The lightning bolt."

Kaldur sighed. "We need to inform the others."

"You _know_ Kid Flash is gonna whine up a storm about this."

"Even so..."

-RL-

Hidden away in their off the grid storage bay, four Bats were laughing themselves silly.

"Oh God, that's _terrible!"_ Barbara was nearly doubled over, Tim not managing much better beside her. "And he actually _fell for it?"_

"Hook, line and sinker," the younger version of Dick grinned, still cackling.

"Man, I don't think even _our_ Wally would be that oblivious." His older self gasped as he finally eased off the laughter. "Or at least, not now. _Really_ wish I'd thought to mess around with him like that in the old days..."

After starting their little explanation-exchange session, the group had worked their way through the more serious matters to simple funny stories - most at the expense of their friends and fellow heroes. Presently, the taller of the two Robins was going through his wondrous exploits in the realm of Pranking Wally via Text Messaging.

"So, Timmy, what greats misdeeds of mischief have you done to _your_ friends?"

"Oh, ah, don't have all that many I can pull stuff like that one." The other boy shrugged. "Don't really have any close friends at school, and the only other kids involved with League stuff are Billy Batson and his sister."

The younger Dick blinked. "Billy's got a sister?"

"A twin, yeah. She can do the same transformation as him, too. I guess there isn't a Mary Marvel where you're from?"

"Nooo... But I'm guessing there's a story behind that."

"Sure is!" As the pair of Robins entered into their own conversation, Barbara leaned over to her longtime friend.

"So, after what the kid here said before about dating their Zatanna, think we should mention the history between ours and Bruce?" She asked in a whisper.

Dick thought about it for a minute, a sly grin tugging at his features. "Nah. I wanna see B's face when he finds out about it, and that won't happen if we tell the kid - he'll go out of his way to avoid causing a scene."

"True."

 _A/N: Pranking Wally via Text Messaging is my none-too-subtle bow to the brilliant Redhead98 and the utterly hilarious story Wally and Dick's Text Messages. Go read, but only when you've got the time and privacy to laugh your head off._

 _-Triscribe_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

All eight Team members had been gathered together again in a private meeting room, with only Batman, his Robin, and Wonder Woman present in the background. Aqualad was going over what the New Genesis heroes had explained.

"So, our mission was a set-up right from the start." Kid Flash groaned. "Why does reality have it out for us?"

"I'm thinking less reality as a whole and more the Light in particular." Zatanna's eyes narrowed.

"But we kicked their butts! On Santa Prisca _and_ the Watchtower! There's no way they were able to re-group a new plan of attack against after only a month and a half."

Aqualad placed a calming hand on his teammate's shoulder. "Do not be so sure, Rocket. Luthor and Queen bee escaped on the Island, as did Vandal Savage and Klarion from the New Year's Eve battle."

As the teens went on to discuss the possibilities of the trap they fell into, Wonder Woman leaned over to whisper in Batman's ear. "Is it just me, or have they been going up against more high class villains in less than two months than we do in half a year?"

"I know," her teammate muttered back, a hint of awe in his tone. "It's... Alarming, to hear them dropping names like this, as though it were a typical occurrence. As well as the fact that all those foes have apparently banded together in secret."

"Much like the lesser evildoers we've been fighting lately. Perhaps a version of this 'Light' is forming in our own reality?"

"That could be a possibility. I'll make sure to go over the details with them before this is over."

"Could you two please pipe down so I can listen better?" Tim gave the pair of grown-ups a small glare. They shared a brief, amused smirk, before returning their full attention to the Team's conversation.

"...no way the Rogues would agree to this." Kid Flash was saying adamantly. "Their rule of no other villains in Central City extends to them not going after other heroes, either. It's possible they were bribed into making a distraction downtown, but they _would not_ have have been fully involved with a plan to send us to another dimension."

"And you're really willing to trust your villains like that?" Superboy shook his head at the speedster.

"Yes! If you don't believe me, then just look at their usual Mo's."

"Wally's right." Robin said mildly. "Central's Rogues might be crooks with very small margins for trust, but they've got a record of not targeting non-speedsters. Or kids, which, sadly, is how the majority of the villainous population still see us."

"So, we know for a fact we're dealing with Luthor, which will mean the Light," Artemis started to count off on her fingers. "The Desaad guy that Conner's fought, who is presumably the one supplying them with New God tech, and an unknown who triggered the storm and lightning bolt. And the Rogues, but we're assuming them to just be puppets at this point, used to ensure we took a detour to where part two of the trap was set up."

"And now we start guessing who might be the unknown factor." Miss Martian murmured.

"Educated guessing!" Robin threw in. "First off - doubtful that it was a magic user, because all the big ones were locked away by Doctor Fate last fall." As he spoke, the small teen reached over and took the hand of Zatanna, who'd become rather tense. Over by the wall, Batman blinked at the familiar action while Wonder Woman hid a small smile.

"And the possibilities of whoever they could hire as a tech-head are small as well." Rocket added.

"Ivo's locked up in Belle Reve, Morrow's on his deathbed being looked after by Tornado, and neither of them have the specialty for this anyway."

"It's _possible_ Luthor's expanding his weapons base..."

"But he tends to do that by going into computronics or alien tech." KF protested. "My bet is that this is another invention from the person who designed those ice storm generator fortresses you guys took down in November."

"Which we were never able to make progress on," Robin sighed, running his free hand through his hair. "Reaaally starting to wish I had access to our usual databases right now..."

Unbeknownst to any of the heroes in the room, their meeting was being observed. A tiny, silent insectoid robot was perched in a ceiling corner, recording them. Every two minutes, it sent a single burst of data back to its master, who was watching the group of teens with great interest in his swampland base of operations.

"Well," Grodd murmured to himself. "This is certainly a surprise."

-RL-

In another reality entirely, the members of the Justice League were arriving at the Watchtower in a state of confusion.

"Batman, what's going on?" Green Arrow called out to the one who'd summoned them all.

"Two hours ago, I sent the Team on a mission to investigate abnormal energy readings from one of Luthor's hidden facilities." The Dark Knight never turned from the holo-screen he was typing away at, even as the others gathered around him nervously. Fifty minutes ago, they contacted me with the news that they'd successfully infiltrated the base and departed with a piece of experimental tech."

"What, no explosions or anything?"

"None. A perfectly executed covert mission. Except, they should have returned to Mount Justice at least twenty minutes before my own arrival." Batman finally shifted his stance to look at the League members, several of whom felt their own apprehension rise at the sight of his obvious tension. "There has been no word from the Team, and now I'm unable to pick a signal from the Bio-ship or any of their personal tracking devices."

Black Canary's jaw clenched. "That's bad."

"Do you know where they disappeared?" Superman asked.

"That's what I'm working on now. So far all I've gotten is that they turned from their initial route back to the Mountain on a detour to, presumably, Central City."

Everyone shot a look a Flash, who paled. "I- I was having a bit of a hard time going up against the Rogues a little while ago, and I called Kid to let him know, but I never saw the kids before the fight finished up. I just figured they didn't get there before then, and ended up going on back to base!"

"But you didn't call to make sure of it?"

"Of course I did, but Wally didn't answer. Again, I just assumed-"

Batman interrupted with a growl and faced his screen again. Plastic Man gave Flash a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, as the rest of the League turned their attention back to the Dark Knight's efforts.

"There," came the word a few minutes later. "Their signals all stopped transmitting at this location." It was an area empty of civilization, not far past a division of forest and field.

Superman, Icon, and Lantern Jordan took point, flying straight out to investigate. Others beamed to the nearest zeta tube location and made their way a bit more slowly to the site.

With luck, they'd be able to determine what happened to the Team and start coming up with a rescue plan. Without it... They would just have to hope that the teens could get themselves out of whatever trouble they were now in.

 _A/N: So, just to make this clear - the Team are coming from a time point in mid-February just after the end of Season 1. The DCAU League that they wound up with are in the early days of their Season Two, as of yet unaware of the magnitude of the organization Grodd has put together (or that they're even going up against Grodd, in fact). I hope this clears things up a bit for the few of you who were confused, and that you enjoy what I come up with next!_

 _-Triscribe_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

After the meeting (which ended on a decidedly unhelpful note), the members of the Team ended up scattering once more. The other Supers took Conner down to the surface to visit family, while both versions of Zatanna disappeared for much the same purpose. Aqualad stayed behind to discuss temporary, and possibly longer, living arrangements with Batman, which left the remaining teens to head for one of the several recreational rooms along with Tim.

"It just makes things simpler," the kid had explained when he insisted they use his first name. "No confusion over which Robin you need to get the attention of, and hopefully the secret identity thing won't matter by the time a version of me shows up in your universe."

"You seem pretty confident that's going to happen." Artemis remarked as she took a seat on one of three sofas, Wally right beside her.

"Well, why wouldn't it? I know there's some pretty big differences between our dimensions, but from what Rob here and I have talked about, other things are nearly identical. And that includes the identities of plenty of Gotham people - heroes, villains, crooks, civilians..."

Kid Flash blinked and looked to his best friend, perched on the back of one chair. "Does that mean there's an Agent A over here too?"

"With the exact same recipes and everything!" Robin cackled.

"I'm sorry, who?"

"He's this old guy who helps the Bats behind the scenes," KF explained to Rocket, and for the others' benefit as well. "Possibly the only person in the universe capable of getting them to go to bed despite looming missions and cases. Not to mention, his food is the best on planet Earth."

"Oh! This is the man who had you bring us the homemade gingerbread for Christmas, right Robin?"

"That is correct, Miss M!" The teammates got into discussing the highlights of that particular holiday, along with plans for getting their entire group together for the next one. Tim just listened happily, a small daydream running through his mind of being able to hang out with kids like this himself one day.

A few minutes later, the door to the room swished open, revealing a pair of grinning heroes in red, white and gold.

"Whoa," Rocket murmured wide-eyed as the pair of Marvels entered.

"Hey guys!" Tim called out. "Have you met our newcomers yet?"

"Nah, we just got out of our monitor duty shifts." The Captain said as he and his sister approached. "They really need to find a way to make those things less boring."

"No kidding!" Mary Marvel nodded in agreement, before calling out the magic word that she and her brother used to transform. When the smoke from the mystical lightning faded, the members of the Team blinked at the small pair of ten year olds suddenly in their midst. Billy and Mary hopped up on the couch beside Tim, and politely introduced themselves.

"It's so cool to meet more heroes who aren't grown-ups!" Billy told them at one point. "There really need to be more of us - Tim, can you imagine putting together a study group for homework with kids like these guys?"

"Or sleepovers! Or park outings, or crimefighting patrols, or museum trips-"

"I get it, guys." Their friend said, amused. The teens in the room were just smiling at the sight, though a few of them had to hold back laughter.

-RL-

"You can't be serious." Luthor said flatly.

"Oh come now Lex, just think of it!" Grodd grinned. "These children are from another dimension - if we could get ahold of and study the device that transported them here, there open up all sorts of possibilities for theft and conquest."

"Stealing something directly out of the Watchtower is nigh impossible. I know those who've done it, but I'm also aware that the League will have put even greater security measures in place after each enemy entry."

"Ah, but according to my little spy, the device is still aboard the ship that they arrived in. So really, all we really need to do is draw this 'Team' out into the open."

"Oh, yes, and that will be _so_ much easier." The bald man rolled his eyes. "Considering that this isn't their home to defend, and that the League will go out of their way to keep the youths hidden away."

"Hence why we'll have to play on the loyalty of teammates, and the stubbornness of teenagers. If we can create a situation where, oh, say an extra magician would be of great help, or one where another Atlantean present couldn't hurt-"

"We draw out one, capture them, and then wait for the others to arrive for a rescue mission."

Grodd's grin grew even wider, into an expression that looked less cheerful and more predatory. "Precisely."

-RL-

Directed by some helpful civilian personnel, Kaldur was able to find his way to the small recreational room where his teammates were relaxing without too much difficulty. Approaching the door, though, his ears picked up the sound of raucous laughter from many throats. Eyebrow raised, the teen paused outside long enough to pick up some of the conversation, and determined that as long as the others were enjoying themselves he was content to leave them to it.

Kaldur turned around and headed back towards the elevators, hoping to track down an information terminal or something similar. He wished to learn more about the differences between their two worlds, and whatever edge he might gain in terms of advance knowledge concerning new villains and heroes, as well as plots that had the potential to be concocted on his home side of the dimensional barrier.

Only partway into his search, though, Kaldur came across a large man with long blonde hair, a silver hook for one hand, and a pair of green leggings. He also bore the same symbol at his belt that Kaldur wore on his own.

The two Atlanteans studied each other neutrally for a moment, before Kaldur bowed slightly, offering both a traditional salute and a greeting in their native tongue. The alternate version of his king raised an impressed eyebrow.

"The Aqualad of this world is not nearly so respectful," he remarked lightly. "Though, I believe that is due to his being outcast from our society some time ago. And I doubt the two of you are one and the same."

"May I inquire as to why you assume that, King Orin?"

"His name is Garth."

Kaldur blinked, straightening automatically in shock. Garth had become Aqualad in this reality? ...Apparently not all heroes were the same after all.

 _A/N: Sorry about the long delay folks, I hope this chapter makes up for it at least a little. Next one ought to be out in a week or so, and then we'll see the action REALLY start to pick up._

 _-Triscribe_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"You guys actually went up against the League? The _entire_ League?" Marry gaped at the Team.

"Well, yeah, but remember that there aren't nearly as many of them in our dimension as here," Robin pointed out. "Not to mention that we ambushed about half, took 'em down before they realized we were there, and only fought the remaining ones."

"Who included most of our mentors, dude." KF muttered.

"Meh."

"Meh?" Zatanna frowned at the teen beside her. "Meh?! Do you _not_ remember all the bruises you got after fighting Batman?"

Both Batson's then stared at Robin in disbelief. "You had to fight Batman? And _won?"_ Billy asked.

"Well, with a little help from Superboy, yeah. And our battle with Batman and Superman aside, I can't help but recall just how easily Kid, Artemis and Aqualad took down _their_ mentors."

The archer snorted. "Please, the hardest part was just luring them all into the hangar after us."

"What did you do?"

"Got ourselves secured, opened up the airlock, and then shut it again just before GA, Flash and Aquaman could be sucked out into space. They hit the doors so hard, all three were knocked out instantly."

Billy let out a low whistle while Mary shook her head in awe. "You guys are amazing!"

Kid Flash grinned. "Yeah, we pretty much are-" Artemis jabbed her elbow into his gut, causing the speedster to yelp and curl up.

"It's nice of you to say so, Mary, thank you."

-RL-

The first ten minutes of the Zatara family get-together consisted mostly of the younger Zatanna holding tight to the grey haired man and sobbing. Her elder alternate had, fortunately, been able to get out a brief explanation beforehand, causing her father to hold onto the teen comfortingly.

Eventually, the girl regained control of herself, and they somehow all wound up in the kitchen, cooking all manner of family recipes for the next few hours.

The first ten minutes of the _Kent_ family get-together were entirely devoted to long, complicated explanations, the end of which only came about when Martha got to her feet with an exasperated expression.

"I've heard just about enough of this that I can take. Clark, go help your father finish the new fence he was working on earlier. Kara, head out to the chicken coop to get today's eggs, if you please. And Conner, if you promise to wash your hands thoroughly, I'll let you help me in the kitchen."

"Yes, ma'am," the three superheroes chorused, two sheepishly and one with a wide grin.

The first ten minutes that the pair of Atlanteans aboard the Watchtower had alone together were filled by an intense session of back and forth questions, of assorted topics.

"And the child will be a male? Truly?" Kaldur asked, wearing a small smile.

Orin nodded, his face the perfect example of parental pride. "Prince Artur. He has my hair and his mother's eyes, though that may not be the case in your world. But tell me, has there really been no invasion by the Thanagarians?"

"No - many others, but none of Hawkman and Hawkwoman's homeworld. I will be sure to mention that to our Batman, though, and allow him the task of determining if such a thing is likely to happen. Earlier, however, you told me of Orm's betrayal - did he act with others to ambush you?"

"Quite a few of the royal soldiers were loyal to him, but if you are inquiring as to whether he involved outsiders, only one. A surface dweller assassin by the name of Deadshot, who first attempted to kill me, which would have incited all Atlantis against humankind. My brother in your world did not try the same?"

"Not to my knowledge. But this will be the first piece of news I bring back to my King and Queen, hopefully in time before Orm turns on us." Kaldur frowned. "Although... Perhaps he already has. Is there a being by the name of Oceanmaster in this dimension?"

"Yes - or at least, that is what Orm called himself at one point after the betrayal." Orin's eyebrow went up as the younger Atlantean cursed in their native tongue. "I take it you were unaware of this."

"It means that my king's brother has not only been attacking and attempting to kill him for years, but has also signed on with a cabal of supervillains in our world, known as the Light."

"Hmm. Well, young warrior, I wish you well in returning to your home and all actions you take to bring Orm and others like him to justice. In the meantime, have you learned to play the surface game of chess?"

Kaldur once again had to smile. "Yes. Your other self was most insistent I learn it upon becoming his apprentice."

"Good, then you won't mind if we play a few rounds while waiting for new developments."

"Of course, King Orin."

-RL-

"I don't suppose you guys have a super-up treadmill for speedsters here, do you?" Kid Flash asked, his foot tapping on the floor so fast it was just a red blur. Artemis rolled her eyes while the others watched him with open amusement.

"Uh, don't think so." Tim said after a moment's thought. "Our Flash doesn't usually need to stretch his legs until after finishing his shift, and just heads down planet-side again."

"Somehow, I don't think I'm gonna be allowed to do that..."

"Why don't you ask your other self to go to?" Billy piped up. "None of the League could put up a stink about it then. Maybe you could do a family visit thing, like your other friends are doing."

KF winced. "Only one problem with that, Flash here doesn't have any family left."

"What?" Robin's head snapped up from the holo-screen he'd been tapping on. Sighing, Kid Flash told the others a brief summary of what his older alternate had gone through years before, which got sympathetic reactions from his audience.

"...What about paying the Rogues a visit?" Rocket suggested, grinning in such a way that let the others know she was joking, trying to lighten the mood.

Kid, though, took it seriously.

"Hey, that's not such a bad idea! Thanks, Raquel!" Hopping to his feet, the redhead pressed a quick kiss to his girlfriend's cheek and then sped out of the room before anyone could stop him.

Robin turned a wide-eyed look to his gaping teammate. "Rocket, I don't know whether to thank or yell at you right now."

"I dunno which you should do either. Maybe both," the older girl groaned, flopping back in her seat.

Tim sent a look to the Batson twins. "If our Flash ever gets a partner our age, would that be a good or bad thing?"

"On the job, good," Billy replied, still staring at the door where KF had vanished.

"Off of it, bad," Mary added, picking up on her brother's train of though.

"Very, bad." They finished in sync.

"Think I have to agree." Tim said after a moment. "Let's hope it doesn't happen."

 _A/N: I am soooo sorry this took so long, I hit a wall and couldn't get past it until my friend JaggerK started badgering me this evening again about updating my DC stories. If you're incredibly grateful to see a new update for this fic, then go bow at her feet, she deserves it!_

 _As for that last line of Timmy's... I will eventually be posting a new DCAU story where he and the Batson sibs do, to their mixed excitement and detriment, gain some new kid heroes to hang out with._

 _Until next time, which I promise won't be so far away now that I'm back at college with full internet access,_

 _-Tri_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Hey Chuck, can we get another round over here?" As soon as the barman acknowledged him, Captain Cold turned back to his compatriots and resumed their conversation. "All I'm saying is, if Wizard and Heatwave aren't able to return our calls, then letting them infiltrate this secret organization was a lousy idea."

"I'm not arguing, mate," Captain Boomerang said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "But considering we've no idea where they bloody even _went_ , how're we supposed to find the boys and bring 'em back?"

"Hey! Maybe we could-"

Whatever Trickster was about to suggest went out the window when the bar's door opened, and everyone turned to see a redhaired kid with a wide grin wearing the old Kid Flash uniform. Behind him, barely holding back his own snickers, was the proper Flash.

Before anyone could say a word, the kid zipped forward in a yellow and red blur, eagerly asking Chuck the barman for enough food to feed three other people. The older speedster stepped in after him, closing the door and then leaning against the wall with an expectant expression.

Mirror Master was the first to recover. Sort of. "That- he- no. That's not- how?!"

"Seriously? That's the best anybody can say?" Rolling his eyes, the teenager started in on the drinks he'd ordered.

Trickster shook his head twice, before turning to point an accusing finger at Flash. "Since when do you have a kid?!"

"I don't," the scarlet speedster replied. "Fellas, meet a younger me from a neighboring dimension - he and his friends wound up here by accident and are stuck until the League can get 'em home again."

"And boy, are we gonna have some explaining to do once we get back," Kid Flash said with a grimace. "Which just means I need to enjoy myself as much as possible _before_ that happens!"

Every Rogue in the room blinked, which just set Flash to snickering. "Yeah, I figured you guys would react like that."

-RL-

"We've got a fix on one of them," Luthor announced, striding into Grodd's private office.

"Excellent," the gorilla grinned, the light of greed shining in his eyes. "Send out our retrieval team."

-RL-

"Tfil nap ot retnuoc," the younger Zatanna said with a grin, her spell carrying the pan of fresh-baked crescent rolls out of the oven and over to a cooling rack on the countertop. A couple steps away, her older self was putting food away back in the fridge, while Zatara set the table in the next room over.

Suddenly, a harsh, unpleasant note began to chime through the house, prompting both the elder magicians to straighten in surprise.

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

"We need to leave," the grown Zatanna said, ignoring her alternate self's questions as she grabbed the girl's wrist. "Dad?"

"Coming." He joined them in the kitchen, giving his daughter a nod as he grasped the worried teen's shoulders.

"Watchtower, this is Zatanna, requesting immediate emergency transport for three." They all stiffened at the sound of the front door being broken down, before the world faded away into streams of blue and white light. A moment later, the trio were standing on the zeta platform in the Watchtower's main deployment hall.

"What happened?" Mister Terrific called down to them.

"Someone with ill intent set off my home's external alarms," Zatara answered, following his daughter's lead in heading for the elevator. "Their highest setting, too." Quite a few people looked at them in concern, but the elder Zatanna waved away their worry.

"We got out before they came all the way in," she said reassuringly. "But, Terrific, if you could take a look to see just who's invading my dad's house...?"

As the trio headed up to the mission control platform, the man did so, pulling up high-def imagery looking down at Zatara's home. He sucked in a breath when three supervillains appeared coming back out the wrecked door. "Killer Frost, Sinestro, Rampage, and Polaris. Oh, boy."

"We might still be able to catch-" Standing beside Mister Terrific, Booster Gold cut himself off when the four villains on screen were teleported away by a large disk of purple light. "Uh. Nevermind."

Zatara, arriving on the upper platform, narrowed his eye at the footage. " _That_ was magic, but if appearances can be believed none of those people conjured it."

"None of them have magical ability, anyway," the elder Zatanna reassured him, also studying the repeating sequence with a sharp gaze. "Which means that our mysterious secret society decided to come after us for some reason."

"Me."

All eyes swung to stare at the teenage magician, who was staring at the screens with a rapidly paling face.

"We don't know th-"

"There's no other reason! Why else would the attack have come when all three of us were there? If they just wanted to go after Dad, then they would've struck when he was alone. If the target was you," she gestured to her elder self, "Then they'd have attacked when _you_ were alone somewhere, not visiting another powerful magician. Logically, _I'm_ the one they must have been after."

"...She does make a point," Booster Gold muttered in the following silence. The older Zatanna sighed.

"I know. But it means our problem just got bigger."

-RL-

"A race against Superman? Seriously?" Kid Flash snickered. "What, were you going slow on purpose to give him a fighting chance?"

"Something like that," his older self grinned, prompting several Rogues in the room to groan. "What? Come on, it was for charity, I had to make the thing at least a _little_ interesting."

"And made yourself a target at the same time." Captain Cold crossed his arms with a snort.

"Weather Wizard nearly turned you and the Big Blue Dork into ice cubes, remember?" The Top added.

"Says the man who succeeded in tossing my off a cliff once when I was seventeen."

Top just waved a dismissive hand. "You were being annoying. Besides, it was only a twenty foot drop to the lake."

Flash turned to smirk at his younger alternate. "What did I say earlier? Weirdest villains out of everybody."

"Without a doubt! Say, where is Wizard, anyway? And Heatwave for that matter - I'd have thought you guys would've called them here with the others."

Not long after the pair of speedsters arrived, word had trickled out about the two of them, and any costumed Rogues not already present at the bar came nosing around to see if the rumors were true. Kid Flash didn't doubt that at least a couple of the ones there had made discreet calls to summon the more interested parties, too.

Both he and his elder self frowned when shifty expressions were exchanged amongst the crooks. Flash was just opening his mouth to change the subject when the communicator in his ear chirped and he reached up to answer it.

"Flash here... What? Are they okay?" KF looked on with growing alarm as the older speedster straightened. "Oh boy. Yeah, fine, we'll finish up here and head to the Metrotower. Right."

"What's wrong?" The teen asked as soon as the conversation clearly ended.

"The two Zatanna's were visiting Zatara and got attacked-"

"WHAT? Where?!"

"Old dude's retirement home in Florida. They're okay, teleported out in time, but Terrific wants us and the Supers back in League territory just in case any groups of villains attack again."

Kid Flash blinked, and scowled. "Seriously? We're in the middle of our home territory! Even better, in _Rogue_ territory! There's no way any group of crooks would be stupid enough to fight us here. Right?" He addressed the question to the men lounging at various booths and tables, getting a resounding cheer in response.

"Little Flasher's right!" Trickster yelled over the din. "They're our jumped-up goody-two-shoes dorks to fight, and no one else's!"

The front door opened.

All heads turned to stare at Heatwave and Weather Wizard, both of whom looked like they wanted to be anywhere else in the world at that moment. "Fellas," the pyromaniac muttered, glancing from the elder speedster to the younger and back again. "We've got a problem."

 _A/N: So! I am now twenty years old, about to start a much needed Spring Break, and have finally come to the conclusion that I should never ever promise when a new chapter of something will be out until the story's already been completely written out._

 _And on another note, I got my best birthday present ever from my paternal grandparents - they paid to get me registered to attend the Texas Writers League Conference this summer, where I will (hopefully!) make some headway on getting my first novel published. My fan fiction writing's gonna be pretty slow on all fronts between now and then, as I focus on finishing and polishing the new draft and its illustrations, but fear not! I abandon NOTHING, and all my stuff will eventually be finished._

 _Until next time,_

 _-Tri_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Fellas," the pyromaniac muttered, glancing from the elder speedster to the younger and back again. "We've got a problem."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you guys have to say?" Kid Flash muttered as Captain Cold jumped to his feet.

"Where have you clods been?" The other Rogue demanded. "We've been trying to contact you for weeks-!"

"The big monkey's base blocks out transmissions unless they come or go through the communications console," Weather Wizard explained, stepping all the way inside and closing the bar's door behind him. "Which includes our phones. But that's less of a problem right now than the orders we were given an hour ago..."

"What?"

"The Society knows about these kids," Heatwave said as he gestured at the teenager in the room. "And we were sent to make an offer to the rest of the Rogues: ten thousand dollars for anyone who participates in making a big enough ruckus that it draws both speedsters to Keystone."

The younger of said speedsters groaned. "They want to capture us, then. That's why they went after Zatanna, isn't it?"

"Guess so."

"Hold up a second here," Flash interrupted. "You guys are involved with the alliance of supervillains that been giving us headaches lately?"

Again, the room was filled with shifty looks.

"Alright, fine, forget I said anything - let's move on the the subject of whether any of you want to take up this offer or not."

"...Could use the money," someone near the back of the room muttered.

"I'm not going to say anything against that," the elder speedster immediately said. "I mean, I'd be kind of annoyed if you guys went and trashed any homes, or mom and pop businesses, or hurt anybody, but I get taking up a job offer with a guaranteed paycheck. Just, let me get Kid back to the League, and then we can all go on to business as usual, okay?"

He grinned at the many murmurs of assent.

"It won't end with us, though." The brief upswell of good cheer died away again with Weather Wizard's words. "Sooner or later, the Society _will_ get its hands on one of these visiting kids, and use whoever it is as bait to catch the rest of them."

Kid Flash scowled. "They try, and they'll find out just how bad of an idea it is. Heck, in our dimension, my friends and I took out the entire Justice League when they got brainwashed last winter! I'd like to see anybody in this world manage that!"

Several eyebrows went up at the teen's declaration.

"The heck happened to bring _that_ about?" Chuck the bartender asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Long story, starting and ending with Vandal I-Love-Trench-Coats Savage and Klarion the Creepy as Heck Witch Boy."

He muttered a string of foul words about the pair, prompting more than a few Rogues to shout, "Language!"

"Like a bunch of mother hens, I swear," Flash chuckled. "Okay guys, seriously, I gotta get Junior back to safe lines. Give me ten minutes before you start the fireworks, alright?"

"Sure thing, Flasher."

"Good t' meet ya, pipsqueak!"

"Feel free to drop by again before you head home, y'hear?"

"Yeah, and give us the details about that battle with the brainwashed League!"

"Thanks, fellas," Kid Flash beamed at them all, before he and Flash both zipped out the door. It didn't take long for the Rogues to become serious again after that, and direct their gazes to the two newly returned members, ready for a full explanation.

-RL-

"These tactics aren't working."

"Don't worry, I've got something else planned that's bound to get the results we want..."

-RL-

"Tsunami Alert, people," Mister Terrific's voice rang out through the hall's of the Watchtower. "We've got a fifty foot tall wave heading for the Chilean coastline and getting higher by the minute - at least four towns are in the red zone, maybe more."

Heroes with rescue and recovery experience hurried to the deployment hall and its zeta platforms, while others headed for the javelin bays to join in on the aid delivery effort. Communications personnel and government liaisons got themselves where they needed to be too, as members of the medical staff readied their supplies.

In one room, though, there was a stand-off.

Tim, Billy, and Mary braced themselves in front of the doorway, while Artemis, Raquel, and Robin attempted to stare them down.

"Look," the blonde archer growled. "We can help. We all know the adults are going to need it, so why don't you twerps turn around and we can _all_ go."

"Not until we know if this is another attempt to draw you guys out into the open," Tim stated. Even with the Batson twins growing more nervous by the second, he refused to back down.

...At least until the door behind him opened and Batman started barking orders.

"Rocket has been requested to assist with the air evacuation - Billy, take her to the zeta platforms with you. Mary, show Artemis to Javelin Bay Three-A, she's going to help with provision hauling. Both Robins, with me."

At that, they all scattered into the hallway. Hurrying alongside Tim and his mentor, Dick frowned. "Where are the rest of our Team?"

"Kaldur'ahm has already teleported down to the Chilean coast with Aquaman to try and limit the tsunami's impact - they'll have constant contact with the Watchtower, and at the first sign of a problem, we have a team ready to beam directly to their position. The Zatara's and Miss Martian are on their way to a nearby hospital that's getting ready to house evacuees, along with seven other League members."

"Supers? Speedsters?"

"Also en route to the disaster zone - they'll meet up in Panama and continue the rest of the way together."

Robin hummed an acknowledgement as they entered a hangar with only one aircraft present: the local version of the Batplane. "Where are we headed to, then?"

"Isla de Pascua. Also known as-"

"Easter Island?" Tim piped up. "Why?"

"Because that's where the tsunami originated."

Both boys exchanged wary glances before climbing aboard the black jet after Batman.


End file.
